Complications in a series of 1224 vasectomies

The assessment of a vasectomy technique should be based on the incidence of complications resulting from the procedure. Differing diagnostic criteria for defining complications and the belated occurrence of some adverse events, however, have made such appraisals difficult. The purpose of this paper is to suggest criteria for defining vasectomy-related problems and to present the results of a long-term study of 1224 vasectomies.

The records of 1224 men who had a vasectomy performed by the same technique during a 4-year period were reviewed, and documented complications were tabulated and evaluated. Patients were referred residents of the lower mainland of British Columbia, and the majority were married. The group included a wide spectrum of ages, races, and occupations. Twelve categories of potential complications were defined, of which 10 were actually encountered in the study group. Infection was defined as having had antimicrobial drugs prescribed, and regret as having returned to discuss a reversal; all other complications were diagnosed based on a documented clinical diagnosis.

Complications had been documented in 124 cases (10.6%) and included 46 minor infections (3.8%), 2 serious infections (0.16%), 23 instances of epididymitis (1.9%), 16 cases of sperm granuloma (1.3%), and 4 minor hemorrhages (0.33%). Of 3 failures, only one (0.08%) was due to recanalization. No serious hemorrhages or late failures were seen.

Satisfactory results were believed to be related to surgical technique and the liberal use of antimicrobial drugs. The low recanalization rate was attributed to the treatment of the ends of the vas with multiple loops of polyglycolic acid ligature.